THE LAST VALLEY CARNIFAL
Beginning in 2017, in reaction to the concept of neoliberalism and the notion that ‘society is dead’, The Carnifal Project is a Welsh collaboration project, consisting of ten photographers, that celebrates community and what can be achieved when people come together.
The carnival, a social celebration that has been part of its culture for over fifty years in the Gwendraeth Valley, was once the highlight of the summer, bringing together every corner of every community, year after year in a festival of floats and marching bands. Clad with clowns and princes, fairies and queens, the carnival was where all walks walked together, dressed to the nines in a fancy display, and although it had also become part of its way of life in the village of Tumble, by the nineteen-nineties the carnival had started to decline and in the summer of 1998, the village was to see its last parade. However, after a hiatus of almost twenty years, in the face of Brexit, Tumble once again welcomed the carnival back to its streets.
WE ARE 'THE CARNIVAL PROJECT'
“Having documented my home village for the past decade, when I heard there was going to be another Carnival in Tumble, I had to do something a little different to celebrate its return. Therefore, combining a blend of styles and visions, I invited an ensemble of image makers to join me in the quest to document the Carnival in a way that it had never been seen before. Its result truly captures the spirit”. Huw Davies
